Christmas Comes Early for Susan Boyle

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he 2013 festive season should be one to remember for talent show queen Susan Boyle, with the release of her debut film The Christmas Candle.

The Victorian period drama, which will star Samantha Barks of Les Miserables fame, is set during the 1890s in an English village, and features a magic candle that answers people’s prayers. The cast also includes Boyle’s fellow Scots John Hannah and James Cosmo, along with former Dr Who Sylvester McCoy.

The I Dreamed a Dream star enthused: “I’m very excited to be part of The Christmas Candle. Everyone is a delight to work with. It’s a fantastic experience to be part of the team.”

Coincidentally, it is also a TV talent contest that Barks has to thank for catapulting her into the big-time, as she finished third in I’d Do Anything, the BBC’s Andrew Lloyd –Webber vehicle of 2008.

With The Christmas Candle currently being shot on location in the Isle of Man, it has been an exhausting but happy homecoming for Ms Barks, who is a native of the island. She arrived fresh from the Oscars where she and the rest of the Les Mis cast performed in front of a packed Dolby Theatre: “I had an hour to unpack and repack and get to set!”

So what does SuBo make of it all? In typically down-to-earth fashion, she said: “It’s very cold filming on location so I’m wearing long johns under my bustle.” As for the role she is to play in the movie, it is rumoured that she will play the wife of the church warden. Not only that, but those golden tones will be heard in all their glory as she sings a hymn written especially for the film.

It’s a long way off, but if The Christmas Candle can top her ever-growing list of career highlights then December will be worth waiting for.